I have been trying not to fall down the “witchy rabbit hole,” but of course, TikTok has left me no choice. As my “For You” page began to fill up more and more with Tarot card readings that were so extremely accurate and comforting, I knew that I wanted to start doing them myself. To my surprise, I came to realize that I have a natural gift for interpretation, as well as feeling for others, so learning Tarot and how to give readings came naturally to me.
I knew I wanted to do as much research as I possibly could on Tarot before I started the practice. As one does, I went straight to “r/Tarot” on Reddit. As silly as it sounds, it really helped build the foundation of understanding that I gained about Tarot cards. They had lots of resources about the different kinds of card decks, how to pick the right deck, and how to start once you get your own deck. Without those resources, I would not know the first thing about Tarot, and I would not feel so deeply connected with my own card deck.
Asking my friends who were into witchcraft and other spirituality practices was my saving grace; they answered all of my excessive questions in great detail, even if it got annoying after a while. It is really hard to find legitimate information on Tarot from the media since there are so many different methods to use, as well as myths that a beginner like myself would fall for instantly. Reaching out to my friends was extremely helpful and this is where I learned about different ways to connect with my deck, as well as how to cleanse it. One of my friends even introduced me to healing crystals, which I am now interested in because of her.
Overall, I am so excited to begin the Tarot practice. I got a beautiful card deck, the cards are holographic with the original Rider-Waite illustration style. Learning the meanings of the cards is probably the hardest part as a beginner. I usually refer to a website to find meanings for each of my cards and it can be time-consuming to interpret the spread of cards I have picked when I am not familiar with all of their meanings. The beauty of starting something new like this is that I have all of the time in the world to get better at it. This may be the first time I have had a hobby where I have allowed myself to be imperfect and just go with the flow. The nice thing about Tarot readings is that everyone interprets the cards that they pick differently, so there are essentially no wrong answers if you have a good understanding of the cards. Doing readings is so fulfilling and it feels so nice to get a good spread of cards that speaks to me. This has been such a great learning experience so far, and I can tell that I am becoming connected more with myself. I would highly recommend starting Tarot if you are looking for a new hobby during quarantine because it has made these difficult times a little more interesting for me.